Liquid film holder and spraying device



July 21, 1936. J, A, LOGAN 2,048,128

LIQUID FILM HOLDER AND SPRAYING DEVICE L Filed June 7, 1954 A 2/ -g @fg-@ mvENToR JoEPHALoGA/v BY `2M ATT RNEYS Patented July 2l, 1936 f unirse STATES LIQUID FILM HOLDER AND SPRAYING DEVICE 'Joseph A. Logan, Springfield, Mass., assignor to Gilbert & Barker Manufacturing Company, West Springlield, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 7, 1934, serial No. 729,356

4 Claims.

"This invention relates to an improved handsized tool for forming and holding a liquid film, for example of oil, for making a test. It is also utilized as a liquid spraying tool. Other objects willV appear in the detailed description of a. preferred embodiment.

The structure shown is planned primarily for use at a public lling station where it is now customary for an attendant to sample the oil from an automobile crank case, to see if it needs changing. There are a good many ways to do this and to make the test of the sample. My improved structure can be used in a good many ways, some of -which I will refer to.

I plan to provide an improved structure to form the test sampleV in a film that can be visually examined as to its sediment content. The structure is so made that it can be conveniently used to advantage either with or without a lamp or in a scientific electric testing machine such for example as shown in my copending application Serial No. 728,055, filed May 29, 1934. Its additional purpose of acting as a liquid spraying tool will be made clear after its use as a tool for test Y'sampling purposes is described.

' In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 shows in perspective my improved tool just as the attendant would handle it;

Fig. 2 shows a section through the lm holder taken in the plane of its oppositely disposed inlet and outlet ports;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. l shows the tool connected to a hand pump means or bulb which I plan Vto use for obtaining the sample from the engine casing and forcing thev sample of oil into the film frame; Fig. 5 indicates my structure of Fig. 1 attached to the ordinary air pressure hose of a filling station which I use to both empty and clean the film container; and

Fig. 6 is a view of my sample holder modified into a spraying tool.

Referring to Fig. 2, the lm container shown consists in a ring I, with an inturned shelf 2, an annular cover plate 3, radial handle 4 having a central bore to connect with the film space 5, an oppositely disposed outlet 6 also connected to lm space 5, gaskets 1, windows 8, and window spacer 9.

The assembly is made by placing bottom gasket 'I on shelf 2, inserting windows 8 with the ringshaped spacer 9 at their edges so as to space the glasses a film distance apart, determined by the thickness of 9. Or the windows may be spaced as shown in copending application filed March 30, 1934, Serial No. 718,218. Cover plate 3, as in Fig. 1, is screwed (or otherwise fastened) in place with the screw heads ush. The inwardly directed flange I 0 of plate 3 bears on the assembly which is tightened down for the lm distance to be determined by the thickness of the at metal ring 9 forming spacers 9. The space between the windows 8 adjacent the inlet and outlet openings to the lm space is widened a bit, as indicated in the sectional view Fig. 2.

In one use, the rubber bulb I I (shown conventionally) sucks used oil up from an automobile crank case through any inserted tube through any suitable joint to the bulb. This operation is not indicated in the drawing. The bulb Il is disconnected and the outlet of bulb Il is fitted at the end of handle 4, see Fig. 4. By squeezing the bulb the oil sample is forced through the handle bore to lm space 5. It fills the latter as air is expelled through opening 5. When filled, the container is handled by 4. And the film can be examined through the windows 8 by the attendants eye. It can be easily shown to the customer. of a flashlight so that all the light can shine through the sample film, The container is made for such uses. And it can also be used as the sample holder of the electric tester instrument of my aforesaid copending case. Thus it is a most convenient tool for the casual test which may be sufcient when the oil is either very good or very bad; for a better test by examining the film with all the light of a flash light shining through; and for an extremely accurate and scientic test by an electric cell testing instrument, as shown in my copending case. In all these tests the lm forming instrument and sample holder, both for preparing and testing, is distinctly a hand tool of simple character for easy manipulation and use in front of the customer, to make the right impression.

When the test has been made it is desirable before using the container again to clean it. I have discovered that a structure such as shown can be cleaned between successive tests (even of very dirty oil) by blowing the windows clean with the air pressure hose, indicated at I0 in Fig. 5, ordinarily used at filling stations for pumping up tires. Having discovered this, I made the handle 4 so as to fit on the customary nozzle I2 of the air hose just as if handle 4 were a tire valve. Whenthrough with the test, I apply the handle 4 to the nozzle of the air hose, as indicated in Fig. 5,

and the air pressure from l0 not only blows out y the oil in the film space 5, but the same operation cleans the windows.

The surprising thing about this cleaning operation is the fact that there is enough scouring movement of the air over all the interior surfaces of the windows when spaced a film distance apart, to wipe the windows sufficiently to clean the glass. I anticipated that the air would get rid of the main body of the oil, but it was a surprising discovery that the glass windows themselves were It can be placed flat against the lens wiped clean of oil and that I did not need to spacing and in driving air under pressure acrossv yfinally clean the glass as a separate operation.

This fact appeared after I built the structure substantially as described and blew out the oil preparatory to taking the apparatus apart for an inside window cleaning before the next4 test. Prior to that I cleaned the glass windows without expecting or noticing that it could be avoided. It wasmy actual experiments that made the glass cleaning function appear as anlunanticipated discovery. The current of air vfrom the end of nozzle 4, which must go through the lm space 5 (a very thin film) from the inlet to the dia-` metrically opposed outlet, has an action all over the interior glass surfaces that is of great advantage in the environment where the hand tool is to be used. By careful test I'found that the windowsndid not need to be disassembled from their lm spaced position until many successive tests were made. That is'to say, the Yair cleaning is suncient for the major number of testsand this is a great advantage and improvement over prior known, oil sample holders,` in the quick work desirable at lling stations.

I` believe the cleaning action is due to the fact Y that the passage of air "under pressure from inlet to outlet Vof the container, sets up a most efficient operation of picking up and spraying the oil. The oil leaves the outlet 6 in a remarkably :Ciriel sort of spray. This is apparently caused by the fact that the oil in the container is held by the glass windows in the form of a'veryV thinlm, for' example .005 of an inch thick. And when the air stream is directedfrom'the inlet `to the diametrically opposed outlet, its Velocity in that stream (with a maximum'velocity at the outlet) sucks the very thin oilfllm into the air stream with power enough to give a very thorough 4cleaning action. This is evidenced by the extremely ne division of the oil as it emerges with Vthe air in mist form. y

I have had considerable experience in devices for spraying oil and so far as I know my improved sample container when cleaned as I have'descr'ibed gives a better spraying operation (where a` ne mist spray is desired, as, in oil burners) than known devices having anywhere nearV the Vsame simplicity of construction and low cost of manu.- facture. It is, Yfor example, common practice in oil burner construction; toV providev a rotating spraying device operable at extremely high speed by an electric motor, to 'get a good spray for oil burning purposes. My very simple structure has utilityas a spraying device and at very low cost 'considering the improvement in the nature of the oil spray. f p

` With this feature in mind I am disclosing a new and useful spraying device for oil, water, or other liquids.V It has'been discovered by me due to my experiments and observation in the cleaning ofv my oil sample holder. j

. InFig. 6 I show the same instrument as in Fig. 1 except that I have added Vpipes 2l and 22 (one ,alone may be suicient) Aatjdiarnetrically opposite points forthe continued admission of oil (or otherjliquid) to the film space 5, as anY air connection with ll directs air under high pressure towards outlet 6. Y

The mode of operation of this device as a sprayer (referring to Fig. 6) consists in admitting the liquid through its supply pipes 2| and the i'llm space between the airlinlet and outlet. This operation is continued as long as the sprayed liquid is wanted. Its commercial application is the arts generally where spraying devices of ,simple form and high efliciency inthe division of the liquid aredesired. It is particularlyzdesirable inoil burner work and in spraying water for air conditioning purposes; as Well'as for cleaning the Windows ofthe sample holding tool.

Having 'disclosed my improvements, I claim: 1. A device forthe purpose described comprising `two interiitting annulargframe members, two circular glass panes positioned aV film distance apart and secured within and between said frame `15 members to form therewith a lm receiving chamber', an inlet'opening through one of the frame the. form of'a handle for the manual manipula- Y tion of the device. l v

2. Adevice for the purpose described comprising two intertting annular frame membersftwo l circular glass panes secured within and between said frame members, an lannular spacer member f positioned between said panes-to space the'latter a film distance apart and form arlm receiving chamber between theV plates within the frame,'an

inlet opening through one of the frame members substantially in the plane of the, chamber, and an outlet opening through the last named frame memberV positioned diametrically opposite `the inlet opening, the inner faces of the glass panes,.

the spacer memberand the frame rwallsall being cut away adjacent said inlet and outlet openings.

3. A devicefor lthe vpurpose described' comprising two interfitting'annular frame members, two circular glass panes secured withinY and between said frame members, an'annular spacer member positioned between said panes to space the latter al iilmdistance apart and form a film receiving chamber between the plates within the framegan inlet ropening through one of theframe members substantially inthe plane ofthe chamber, Yan outlet opening through the last named frame member ypositioned diametric'ally...opposite the inlet opening, the inner faces of the glass panes, the sp-acer'member and the frame Walls fall being cut away vadjacent said inlet and outlet` openings', and a hose coupling device extending butwardly fromsaid frame and connected toone of said openings. I

4. A device for the purpose described comprising two annularframe members, two circular JOSEPH A'LOGAN. 

